Starfire's Arc: To Be a Heroine, REBOOT
by LitBlueEyed
Summary: Caught in between the 'know-your-place's and the 'do-whatever-you-can's, breaking the limit of bravery, overthrowing loyalties, becoming that heroine, Starfire must-she has to!-carry the burden of being the connection between her two worlds at war, Tamaran and Earth. Must a love for life remain constant in the mess of the cataclysm?
1. Prologue

**STARFIRE'S ARC: TO BE A HEROINE** , reboot, 2016

* * *

Part One

* * *

Prologue

"What can we know about the Light?"

"The Light?"

"The Light has its own name in the tales we tell our children, that in darkest of places a light will always gleam from somewhere off." Two masculine hands, rough bone and bulging knuckle, softly clasp a floating light from the ceiling that twinkled to resemble the night sky, which now burned a foreboding warning to the aliens under it: their own light source was dimming and the universe looked like it was shouting.

"I've—I've been fortunate as the elders say to have lived a lifetime of exploring galaxies myself." Between the fingers, the light twinkles and twinkles, lighting the tan, tan palms. "Though, I have been called naïve for never witnessing total darkness, have you seen it? The parts of the universe that are dominated by complete emptiness, the myths that haunt us, the supposed graveyards of the galaxy. Can you imagine how horrid the sight?

"I walk in our dying world and cannot help but to remember those myths: the stars, like ours, that have dimmed, the people who have suffered, the universe gone unstable, and the worlds that have become nothing. Clearly, even during our daytime, even with the three lights in our sky burning at my sides, I can see how dark our world can become.

"So I ask, can Light inspire us? It has manifested itself as hope."

"You are speaking too romantically, Galfore."

"Can you tell me that when we find ourselves wading through total darkness, will we be able to remember what Light was like?

"This invasion—it's our avenging the people who thwarted us from preventing this."

"My hurting heart, a lot of people—they will be killed."

"They will."

"Has the Grand Ruler spoken?"

"Tonight he shall send an attack force to Earth."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Let me welcome you here! I wrote the original series three to four years ago and its a bit painful to revisit, considering how much has changed. Although this is just a mere retelling of a Teen Titan story, "Starfire's Arc" means a lot to me (no matter how often I deny my love for fanfiction) because it fell in a time period where I needed a few heroes myself. So rereading this brings back mountains of memories all captivated in how I wrote as a narrator. I cannot express how special it is to revisit this "old self" (in quotation marks because I don't think we can ever lose the people we once were-another story for another time.)

That aside, I wanted retell my retelling using the voice I use now-which hasn't changed for the worse, I hope! I could give you a thousand thank you for reading this and if you decide to follow the story, I will be very excited to be writing for you. No fear the spoilers in the original series, aspects will change! With each update, if you don't mind, I would like to include a few things about myself as the writer of this story-like what inspired me to write this, the time a friend fought me for my account name (I lost and sulked for a week, knowing he had access to reading ALL my stories), and the multiple factors that contributed to this reboot series.

As for now, thanks again! Chapter One shall be up shortly.

LitBlueEyed


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One, "Life Interrupted."

A bullet of angst shot through a man of black capes and his punch shook the metallic wall, singing soundly from the impact. Alarms shrieked and red lights hyped and hysteric flashed and flashed and the space tower locked in defense mode. He paused—his head clasped by his hands which tore his black mask from his face and slipped down his body, falling hopelessly against the control deck. He hunched forward. His back was like a wall to the others who were cladded like soldiers, standing in their trench on the frontlines. The frontlines—a good name to call this place.

He lashed back in anger, "Did you not hear me?! Secure the boundaries! Now!"

They knew him as the hero of Gotham, and WonderGirl and the Lantern, dressed in their reds and blues and greens, starred at him for a moment, almost begging him for a last word other than "get the hell out of here!"

"Did you not hear me?!"

They hopelessly turned from their leader, pacified each other with brief solemn nod, grasped their breathing-masks, and shot out to the hell on the verge of breaking loose: the stars fled from the sky, leaving behind tale of spiraling smoke. The sky wept and wept with inky blackness trying to hold her galaxy together in the midst of her distress. Hiding itself in shadows, the cratered moon hid behind the Earth, and that Earth was fixed in a position where she could not avert her eyes: a damsel, witnessing the attack of her protectors.

Batman darted to the Ops computer screen, dodging the sudden shutting doors and violently slammed his fingertips upon the keyboard, anxiety induced, yet determination on high! Under the suspense of time falling from their fingertips, Superman rushed to Batman.

"Bruce?"

No answer—just typing and typing and typing.

"Bruce."

"Dammit! Leave me!" He continued his furious typing, "Evacuate the others!" The anxiety danced within Batman's mind, manipulating his usual perfection to make mistakes within his message. Words spewed throughout his head, his "w's" became "q's," his formality shattering with each passing moment. _If there is a chance, it has to be taken!: A treaty proposal? T-o t-h-e G-r-a-n-d R-u-l-e-r o-f T-a-m-a-r-a-n…_

Outside the heroes hovered in the low-gravity, strong in position, weak in faith. The eerie quiet suppressed them to accept the sensation of solemnness.

"…by the looks of the building lights, I'd say we have less than three minutes…" Diana spoke into her device encased in her suit. It was quiet. Space was usually quiet. It was supposed to be quiet. Yet, insanity and chaos, tainted by a trace of hope burned throughout their position, dangling in the zero gravity somewhere in the sky. They could hear their heart beat, or at least feel it hard enough to remember the sound. The sound—the sound of a heart is almost as familiar as the sound of fighting to a superhero.

In the distance, the crescendo of sound and light crept up like a deadly white comet. A shriek of thunder shattered the horizon! Bursts of blinding white lights from a series of supernovas conquered the sky, spewing purple-armored aliens into the galaxy. The heart-throbbing anxiety! Like a thunderhead descending forth, an army charged.

The friends dared to look each other in the eyes.

"Good luck to you."

About eight thousand miles below, a young Super sat on the corner of her bed. Odd, she kept thinking. She paused and cryptically studied her tanned palm. She fixed her position, straightening her long back with a crack or two, and redrew her hand forward, igniting her power: an energetic disc. Being a member of the revered Teen Titans, she could fling these near the occasional robber, evil doer, or "bad guy," as Beast Boy would say, to stop them in their place. She could burn the androids, the aliens, and other enemies that could take the blistering green heat. Glaring at her hand, she powered down and studied her hands only to draw herself to her feet, clenched her fingers into a fist, and struck the wall with the light—now a blistering white.

Alone in her bedroom of festooning purples and pinks, she fell back into her seat, perched upon her bed. The room remained unlit besides the tunnel of sun light shafting between the furry purple curtains. Highlighted on the maroon floor was her shadow, suddenly vaporized by the sparking of her starbolt—that blistering core, the twinkling tale, the warmth of gold caressing her cheek. It hurt to stare long enough. She brushed her hands across the empty space, her fingers dancing with the new form of starlight like a mighty wildfire. Yet, it _felt_ as tranquil like the comets, the ones that rarely visit the Earth.

A knock on the door: "Star, you in there?"

With a sudden jerk, she threw away her focus and the light combusted!—her scampering backwards with a squeal, her tumbling off her bedside hit the floor—thump.

"Uh, you okay in there?"

A swift arm into the air, "I am unharmed!" Starfire laughed and quickly rose to her feet, pocketing her hands. She proceeded to the metal door and fiddled with its locks and buttons and various numbers. "Coming! If I can just comprehend the mechanical function of this doorway—"

A swing, a bam, and a crash, the door swung open and a boy groaned on the ground, clasping his head. Starfire gasped, rushing to the floor, giggling, giggling, trying not to laugh, and placed a gentle hand upon his forehead, "My greatest…apologies, Robin! I often forget that the third button causes the door to go into attack mode."

Robin was a serious boy, now becoming a man—grown to a tallish height over the last five years of Titan-hood. Titan-hood, as the people who have come to see the super-group have called it, demanded a leader of immense sincerity, a blank face that barked orders at his team and a bulk of muscles that could do its part and carry the burden of the city. Perhaps he had tried to stuff himself into the composure of the hero Jump City needed. His hair was long now, and in his fits of anger and focus—he glaring into the hyper depths of the interwebs for information—the smoke-like strands covered his face.

"Starfire," he would warn from the blinding light of the computer late at night—he in a stark silhouette too focused to look back—when she hesitantly seats herself on the floor behind him, a blanket in her arms. He bellows, "I don't need you in here now."

She thought about those late nights in the Operation Room as timeless. They happened so often, and will keep happening, she thought. That seemed to be another earthen principal: cycles, repeats, and habits all being a part of human-hood. After all, their planet was in full symmetry—too perfect of a working planet to imagine. How could its people not act in symmetrical patterns? Yet, patterns (pulling angry, stressful late nights when the city demanded it) consumed her friend, did they not? Thinking back, she must have sat there for hours and hours over the years, dozing off to his tapping on the keyboard.

It had been five years since they had met, had it not? Over the course of the five years, it had been noticed that Robin spent most of his time in his uniform. It was not until a day after her coming that the others had provided alternate clothes for Starfire, and she had noticed the earthly custom of changing clothes according to the circumstance. She remembered the first feeling of "cotton," the itch of "wool," and the practicality of "spandex." Sleeping felt nicer on Earth by the comforts of "fabric." Though, Robin was a serious man—now hesitating to respond to the boyish sound of his own name. Perhaps this wasn't such an uncommon thing. Beast Boy had passed six feet a year ago and Starfire had overheard him "doing the googling" of new super-names from Raven who was criticizing him on the couch. They had also celebrated the last of year of Cyborg's teen-hood with a birthday party. Perhaps Robin was only following in the steps of his people, being "the responsible" and what not. However, how daunting could being a The Hero be to not have time to change clothes?

A maturing friend, she thought.

Before she could, rather hesitantly, thumb the black strands from his eyes, he pushed his hair from his face, trying to bite down something—a feeling? A shout? A—smile? Robin clutched his head, glaring up at her, biting a grin from rising between his cheeks.

"You are of good cheers today?" Her voice lifted like a balloon! Cheeks red and blistering, he laughed and shook his head, playfully shooing her hands from his head as she persisted, spurting hiccups of snickering. He pressed his bare hands against his face to compose himself.

"You are in a great mood, are you not?" She added as he clutched his aching stomach, laughing and laughing. His laughter, the refreshing occurrence in the lives of the Titans, filled the hallway. Falling back to the wall for relief, Robin brushed in sleeve against his forehead and shook his head, "I just can't believe this is the third time that's happened this year."

"You're still laughing?" She gasped, "Is today not Robin's best day? Your birthday perhaps?"

"Nah, nah," he rose to his feet and offered her his hand, "Just a Sunday."

"Team bonding day!" –this, thought Starfire, had been one of the few things that had stayed the same over the years, only if crime permitted. Robin kept in his uniform just in case.

"We're about to start. You ready? Or…" Robin paused, eyeing around her frame and at the ash thrashed spot on the floor of her room, smoking in defeat. "…should we get that taken care of first?"

She looked back embarrassed and slammed the door behind her. She smiled sweetly, "Oh! No, no. It is not 'the big deal.'" She pulled him forward and down the hall, happily constricting his arm with a tremendous alien strength. "It's a good day, friend, and we can't waste it. It was only a spider anyway! What's the team bonding day's activity?"

"Baseball, rumor has it."

"To the roof, yes?"

Beast Boy grabbed the baseball and protected it fiercely behind his back when Cyborg lunged forward, flailing his arms to reclaim it. To Raven, who levitated in the corner, the two children were fighting over a toy—a silly toy, one they would definitely lose within the next hour. They might have grown taller, but some things never change, do they?

"You pitched last time!"

"So?"

"It's. My. Turn!"

A black aura shot out, consumed the ball, and tore it violently into pieces the before the boys, who threw up their arms to salvage the shreds. Raven prompt up from her position calmly fixed three feet in the air, "Last night the remote, two in the morning, the bathroom, this morning the pancake syrup. Must you two always act like children?!"

A simple answer, "…maybe…"

"After the Last Incident," She shot back a hateful glower and noticed Robin and Starfire coming through the hatch to the roof. She continued, gliding over to the brown sack of bats and baseballs and levitated the ball into the hands of Robin, "Robin will be pitcher. Understood?"

"In the Last Incident, Beast Boy did not mean to set off the fire alarm," Starfire chimed, placing her hands on the shoulders of the not-so-much-of-a-boy-anymore. She chirped a few "good mornings" to the others.

At Robins command, they huddled: "Starfire, Raven, you two take outfield. Cyborg, you hit first, Beast Boy, you hit second! And we will switch off positions." There was sudden trace of shrewdness in his expression, he tipped his head, drew up a smirk, and tossed his gaze left than right. "farthest hit is excused from chores tomorrow. Worst hit takes the other's chores. If the ball is caught… no count!"

"Oh and if you lose, Robin? You want us to believe there will be no outbursts or change of rules?"

"Hey, hey, hey, I will take the other's chores. I'm set on my bet."

"Who replaced our leader?"

"Come on guys," he chimed, rolling his eyes back, "it's a good day."

They broke in a scurry—all into their positions: Cyborg grabbed the bat practicing his impression of the World Series swings Starfire and him had watched the week before. Beast Boy was the umpire, Robin at the pitcher's base, and Raven and Starfire, hovering over the tower.

"Hey! No fair! No powers allowed!" Beast Boy whined.

"…just ignore him…" She groaned to Starfire, "Who thought of this anyway?"

"I believe that baseball originated from the French clerics foretold in a 1344 year old manuscri-"

"Rhetorical question, Starfire."

"Oh," she huffed, "Of course!"

Robin rounded up an arm, cupped the ball at his chest, took a mean look at Cyborg, and dragged his leg with the pitch, then… _three…two…one…_ released! The ball hurdled in a spiral motion towards home plate then—

Struck by the shattering bat of the metallic man! "BOOYAH!"

Robin dove to the ground to dodge the shot of the ball and lifted his hand to his face to protect his eyes from the shelling of wooden splinters. Cyborg shot right past him on the second base and rounded to the third. Raven soared fast and plummeted down the tower to catch the ball's pace. It bounced upon the rocks, seconds from her grasp. While Cyborg cheered and bounced in his stride, pumping his arms into a flex, she swung her best arm up to the tower,

"STARFIRE, CATCH!" The ball shot to the air violently, locked on Starfire as she caught it with zeal and zapped towards what her friends nicknamed 'the diamond.' Cyborg headed for home, he collided with the alien—

"YOU'RE OUT!" The green kid shouted.

"What?!"

"The girl got you beat, dude."

"My most apologies, Cyborg."

"…girl, you better hope B.B strikes out on this one…"

"Will not!" Beast Boy bit his tongue.

"Will too!"

"BOYS!"

"…Sorry Raven…"

"…Sorry Raven…."

Cyborg grabbed the mitt and crouched behind the not-so-much-of-a-boy-anymore and Starfire cheered in the distance, "Please show us 'what you have,' Beast Boy! The World Series is cheering for you!"

"It's comin' straight for ya gals."

Raven rolled her eyes, "Strike him out!"

Robin once again, drew up his arm, his leg following through and _one…two… three_ … Released—"STRIKE ONE!"

"What that was so a ball!" Raven shot a hateful glare. "…fine, fine… it was a strike."

Robin pitched once more—"STRIKE TWO!"

"Oh come on!"

Robin, this time armed with a smirk, drew up his head, whirled his right arm, and released, sending a curve ball his way. A crack! A shot! The sound of a ball shooting through the air! The ball went flying from the tower, out into the open, destined to be the winner, unless a fast-flying alien could stop it. Beast Boy stopped and stared in pride, glorifying himself with a victory dance.

"RUN GRASS STAIN!"

Fast she flew through the air, gaining distance to the 'ball of base.' With a outstretch hand, her fingertips grazed the knit, so close, so close—

 **Look out Starfire.**

A scream from the tower! There was a shadow, a big shadow, a huge shadow the threw her and the ocean around her in darkness! She threw her body over to the sky, split her spine at the sudden jolt, and shot her eyes to the sky—what was that? An eclipse? A star? A meteor dropping down to her!

She gasped in awe. "…X'hal…" and let herself plummet just inches before it, eyeing it with wonder building upon fear. The city? The city beneath here! Reacting upon Tamaranean-Titan reflexes, she blasted herself to the heavens. Grazing the side of hurdling boulder, she made contact with the surface with sudden resounding boom; her body pined to the mass by the rushing gravity. She tilted her head back to see the Jump City emerging in distance with each passing second. Raven! Beast Boy! Cybrog! Robin! Must still be on the roof!

With a second wind, she struggled up from the dent she made and pressed her back to defy Earth's oppressing gravity—no good! Time slipping through her control, she hucked her spit into her palms, and exerted a severe amount super alien strength that ate at her arms and choked her limbs—her head about to burst, her chin like a dagger to her chest. With sudden relief, the meteor slowed until it weighed one on one against the alien in still flight. She hefted. Her limbs pumped. She huffed and huffed: "I… CANNOT… HOLD IT… MUCH… LONGER!"

Underneath the pressure, pulsing against her, the meteor continued to thrust down towards the earth.

Robin screamed, "RAVEN! HELP HER-"

Raven zoomed passed, gained enough speed to slap the moisture from her eyes, and shot into the alien, and violently knocked her from the force of the—thing? Starfire fell with the boulder before Raven could catch her, bringing her up above the ocean. Huffing and huffing, they watched the piece of space drop into the Jump City Bay—a mighty splash. There was an outcry of cheer from the people somewhere far off in the city. The city's waves roared and built as they received the massive object, sparing the city from potential harm. The water consumed the object, leaving a small metallic island exposed to the open air for the team to investigate.

From the tower, they saw Beast Boy as a jade pterodactyl carrying Robin and Cyborg to the girls. The five descended down together upon the object that screeched a metallic scream as their feet fell upon the surface. Beast boy shifted into his man form, "Does this mean I win?"

Robin ran passed him and collided with Raven, taking Starfire into his hands, shaking her shoulders, "Are you alright?"

She gasped, huffed, and tried to speak, though exhaustion pinned her voice to the bottom her stomach. She fell to the ground, and gagged, throwing her head against her knees pinned to the metal. A breath, a breath, she took a full breath, and nodded. But, her eyes caught weird marks in the alien craft—its burn marks gnawed at her knees and she moved back from its blistering heat. "W-Where did this contraption come from?"

"Cyborg?" Robin went to his knees, clasping a hand on her back, "Do you think you can investigate the-"

"My God." Cyborg stopped in his pace, frozen, horror-stricken. He clasped his palm to his mouth, biting down on his lip, eyes wide, wild, and anxious while his turquoise scanners grazed against the metal flashed and flashed, computing a blinking code on his robotic arm. The others ran over—

"—Justice—"

"—League—"

"—Watchtower—"

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 **Author's Note:** Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two, "Beginning Cataclysm."

"CYBORG! ACTIVATE THE MONITOR! MAYBE WE COULD—"

"ALREADY ON IT!"

The Titans paced back and forth in the Ops Room, Starfire on the ground, her head between her arms and Raven brushing her back with a healing hand, Beast Boy asked questions and questions, shut up by Robin with a bark! Starfire snatched the samples of the tower and scanned the appearance. The burn marks were still warm…burning? Burning! She dropped it back into its container.

"Starfire, sit back down!" Robin shot his finger from her to Raven and she complied. He paced below the massive screen, trying to distract himself, something, anything! Back and forth, he ran, his knuckles fastening and separating with each moment.

"Robin! You need to calm down!"

"Easy for you to say, Raven!" Robin lashed back in anger, "The Justice League raised me! For all I know—t-they could be-!"

"ROBIN!" Starfire interrupted, her hands falling from her head, she lifted her eyes and let them fall on his horrified expression, grieving. He was having a good day today. "Please—please listen to Raven."

"Robin," Started Raven, steady, as he collapsed on the couch, "You, out of everyone on this planet, should know what the Justice League can do. They are the strongest people we know."

"INITIATING THE COMPUTER SEQUENCE!" Cyborg yelled, queuing the screen.

Robin shot back up: "Justice League! Come in!" The screen fuzzed with black and white particles, overwhelming the room with fizzing sound. "Batman! Come in! Bruce!"

"…Batman is always at the computer…" Beast Boy murmured from the table.

Robin lashed back around to the control booth, "Cyborg! How fast can you activate the T-Ship?"

"You're going into space?!"

"You are not going into space!"

"I have to! They're my family!" He threw his gaze at the elevator, clenching his fists, and he walked a hurried stride—suddenly stopped by Starfire at the ground, wrapping her arms around his legs.

"Let go, Star."

She crouched over, held tighter, pressing her nose against the fabric of his dirty uniform and all its grease and murmured a simple, "Please."

"Star," he jerks, "let go!"

"You cannot go alone, please!"

"Starfire!—"

"We are your family too!"

Silence—

She peaked up at his face five foot something above her and saw his bare hands clasped at his eyes. His chin pointed at the ceiling; his head fell back. He pushed his forearm to his eyes, and pointed a blind finger to the elevator.

"Let's go then, Titans."

At the launch sequence's beginning, there were shouts, furious typing, fingers racing across keyboards and activating keys and codes from individual portals. "Main power online? Oxygen tanks? Defense systems? Engine? Attack mechanisms? We don't know what we're going against Titans! Give me affirmation!"

They shouted as the ground above them opened up, letting in an invasion of sunlight—boom! The shuttle erupted, leaving contact with the earth by the fire blasting from the engine. Suddenly, it plunged into the sky! Starfire had rarely left the Earth—only once for her Tamaranean transformation and a few other times to just fly in the sky.

Within the minute, the Earth had disappeared—the Earth almost like hands releasing the ship to the stars and planets in the sky above. The shuttle cruised forward and it was silent—the silence drowned the Titans. Starfire watched the team from the camera. There was a time before her residency on Earth and that was a time that no one had been eager to share. She remembered the day as dreadful—a dreadful day to meet the Teen Titans. Dread was another strange concept.

"Cyborg! How much longer 'til touchdown?"

"About two minutes. Prepare yourselves, Titans."

Dread—

Starfire placed her hands on her head, remembering, remembering, thinking about how the most glorious of outcomes come from the Dread.

Then, Beast Boy's eagle eye spotted something—something in slow orbit, and shuttered, "Duddee…"

Titan's craft slowly sifted through a poisonous dust that smoked the scene in a deathly haze. Dead forward and to the right, a ruin hovered, the remaining pieces scattered within the hundred yards of the tower. The three stories of windows were all shattered and crisped, its shards in a sharp, hovering trail littering the space. The smashed needle suspending it in a hover now had the tower mindlessly spinning. Its top was gone—struck Jump City's bay that morning.

"…the watchtower…" Starfire bellowed.

"This can't be the tower."

The ship maneuvered into a landing upon the tower and the team shoved on their breathing masks and with an exhaust-like snap, the windows of their compartments opened. In her alien custom, she did not need to breathe the air the ship provided. Out of her compartment, she glided, and stepped onto the surface that faced Earth. Behind her, the team jumped out, making contact with the battered metal. Robin came to the floor, his hands grazing the gashes in the surface that threatened to tear the remainder of the tower a part at any moment. He kept his footsteps steady and did not speak a word.

"No sign of life." Cyborg spoke, "no bodies either."

"Is this a good thing?"

"What was this?" Beast Boy sunk to the ground. "A rogue meteor maybe?"

Starfire's walked the distant edge, leapt into a flight, and touched base with the loose chunk of metal floating farther and farther away from its base. More burn marks—a dragonfly blue imprinted upon the metal, uneven and unleveled, like a gash writhing with violent, white veins spreading throughout the mark.

A blast of blinding light—

The Titans ducked for cover. The smoke cleared around Starfire, standing there, eyes wide, hands pinned under her, watching her starbolts melt the metal into that deadly blue. She cupped her mouth, gawking down at the burn marks she made. Suddenly, the epiphany hit her, she flinched and threw herself to the ground. She huddled upon the floor, her hands hiding her face, "X'HAL!"

"Starfire!" Raven rushed to attend to her friend. "What's—?" She examined the effects of Starfire's bolts. A match—

"My God."

"How'd you know—?"

"Starfire!" Robin ran over.

"Robin, stay back!" She cried.

"Star—what's—?"

She quivered back, holding one hand out to stop him, her other hand hiding her face, "I don't deserve to be in your presence!"

A boom! A hundred shooting stars encased in blinding white flames gallivanted through the space and descended down towards the Titans. The light evaporated away to reveal aliens of purple and black armor, marked furious speed—their strength: no less. They shot through the open space and swept the Titans from their stances and onto the ground—tumbling, tumbling, fighting, a punch, a hit, a swing—with a quick dance, they bonded the heroes, two men to a Titan. The arms of Robin were captivated behind his back in such a position held by great strength—arms about to break. Slammed down to his knees, he shouted orders for Starfire that she couldn't preform.

"Get away from her!"

She was still and let the arms of the aliens take her, only slowly, effortlessly drawing her arm up above her, igniting a starbolt above her head, and shooting to the sky as a message to her people— _it's me._ All went quiet and still, the aliens around her stopped and trembled, backed away, and bowed, affirming that she was indeed was the daughter of their Grand Ruler, the princess of an unusual power—now more fearing in its iridescence—who had become the prize for the Citadel that ended the worst war in their history.

They spoke her name, mumbling "Koriand'r, Koriand'r, Koriand'r."

"Star, your starbolts?" Cyborg gasped, hitting the floor at his captor's release.

"Starfire, do you know these people?"

"Are these Tamaraneans?"

"It is best if you stay quiet." Hushed, she said nodding mindlessly, eyes watering, the light fading from her fingertips. She gripped her mouth in pain and refused to look at the alien before her in a firm stance. He was cladded in stacked armor and a stiff brow that refused to show much mercy.

"Of all Tamaraneans," he said, "You must know that Tamaran always sends a revenge squad when we've been attacked."

"You've been attacked?"

"We've," he corrected, "been attacked by them."

"By them?!" She spat.

"The Earthlings! Responsible for the death of one thousand aboard a ship carrying information about the Milky Way's sun." He looked at the ground, his expression sinking. Then, he withdrew his composure, sharpened his posture, and returned his dead gaze to Starfire who had come to her knees.

He was the leader of the Tamaranean army—one Starfire had not known, except from a distant memory she was too young to retain. It was a cheerful memory, filled with people and laughter. Yet, it was also horrible, filled with screams and shattering glass. The memories of Tamaran were never happy ones, but the girl's fall to Earth had ruptured her memory of the most horrid. In this man's eyes, she remembered her planet's white sands; his skin, the planet's bright glow; his armor, the purple tapestries that adorned the arched hallways that towered hundreds of feet above the throne room.

He approached, standing over her. Though, he kept his chin locked high and never took his eyes off the Titans who crouched in their place on the ground, stopped from inching closer to their friend by the alien spears pointed at them. "The Citadel—they had told us a long time ago that you had made it to Earth. I never believed them. You are well, Princess?"

"The Citadel?" She shuddered. The Citadel—the Citadel.

"Starfire! What does he mean?"

"You're their princess?!"

"Why—" She broke to her feet, eyes bursting with energy, hands igniting. "Why is Tamaran communicating with The Citadel?!"

"Your starbolts!"

"Their white!"

"You were the ransom." The leader lightly pushed her hand away and glared down at her small frame with a sobering expression that slapped her like a misbehaving child. The ice of the sadness crept onto her, now frozen by his biting scowl. "You were the treaty. Has their ransom not escaped from them?"

"What if I returned? Surely, I can speak for Earth!"

"What has been done is done." He turned away.

"General Karras, please—I shall return and all will be—"

He shifted his chin over his shoulder and threw a gaze escalating with hate and anger and biting sadness, and she received it with tears, "Your return will be your imprisonment—by the latest treaty you know just as well as I do: Princess Koriand'r has been sold to the Citadel. If she has escaped, she has escaped. But if she returns, she must be handed over."

He spoke his planet's tongue, recalling his troops. Between the moving bodies, they scampered to their feet, Beast Boy on the run to his friend standing at the far end of the ruin. Swinging his body left and right to avoid the rushing soldiers who marched their way to flight, Cyborg followed just behind him. Raven hovered over. Far behind her, Robin stood.

Watching them take to the skies, Starfire found herself in between calling them "her people" and "the Tamaranean Army" and those two identities belonging to the same thing never seemed so different. My People, My People—she stepped towards them—My People! She jumped into flight with a heart in a deep homesickness aimed straight for them—to fly with them, to commune with them—

A hand caught her tight on her wrist—Robin. A quiet Robin, eyes relaxed, yet horrified, looked up from the middle of his friends. His chest packed in a space suit grows and shrinks as his breath planted a fog upon the surface of his mouth piece. She floated down, sank to the floor, and clutched her head in shame, ""I… friends… friends I am so sorry."

"Hey—"

"Please, Robin." She huddled her head to the ground, eyes shut tight. "I do not deserve to be in your presence! Your family, their gone and—"

"We are family too." He said.

 **Author's Note:** Thank you for your patience. Chapter Three will be up Friday, next week.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three, "Her Sadness"

 **Author's Note:** Enjoy Chapter Three!

The way home was quiet—solemn. Starfire had not moved since the departure: her head against the glass, eyes down and glistening, her cheeks pinched red with salty tears. She wished for at least the tears to stop. Nothing changed—fights go on, revenge goes tallied, and tears keep streaming.

The T-Ship cruised into the thermosphere, locked on contact with the very distant tower, and on Cyborg's command shifted into the landing mode. Within minutes, the ship touched the launch pad and the Titans were permitted to abort from their compartments. It was very quiet.

While the others rose from their compartments, Starfire sat in hers, hunched over, staring aimlessly into empty space. Ever wanted to hide? On Tamaran, as she remembered, hiding never was a childhood game, but a horrible practice. The memory of hiding from the Citadel Armies bubbled over her: she saw her mother's expression, pushing her down a shallow shoot, relived the tightness of the dark, cramped space, and the suffered the suffocation of the anxiety-induced moment. A stab, a scream, her mother's blood splashed upwards.

Just then, there was a tap at her window and her eyes meet Robin, his squat locked upon vertical edge of the parked ship. Their eyes rubbed against another's for a few moment, drowning in a silent sorrow. The glass, his bare handprint pressed against it, was the only thing that separated the two: thin and transparent, but felt like an ocean to the boy. "Let me in."

Drowning in the blue of his eyes, Starfire hiccupped a sob and without turning away she touched the release lever and the window rose up like a slow breath in the winter. Robin watched it rise, then silently crawled into her compartment, kneeling next to her control chair, his hand protectively against the back of her seat. "Can you move?"

She nodded, yet sat in stillness, eyes at her feet.

He shook his head, cupping her back and lower thigh chastely, taking her in his arms, rising gently, helping her climb out of the compartment and down the ladder. When they reached the bottom, she stirred softly and he set her feet upon the ground.

"Thank you." She murmured. She did not turn to meet his face—too afraid of what expression it held. She choked down a tear, bit her lip, and sauntered to the exit. Simply, he followed behind her. Though, when they entered through the doorway to the Ops Room, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy stood before the grand screen and the black-satin couches, pajama-dressed and junk food in hand.

Silly.

How silly Earthlings can be—she had begun to cry

"It's still team bonding day," Beast Boy chimed—trying his best to. He put her usual pajamas in her hands.

Like a sudden pulse, she embraced them all at once, holding them tight.

They spent the night in the room. By the first hour, they were all scattered upon the carpet floor, lying in all different orientations. Dressed in their unprofessional, silly pajamas, they all simply stared at the ceiling in silence. In respects to their interrupted world, this time for silence was not awkward, not wrong, not eerie. The Earth word, "Comforting," as Starfire thought was the best word for it. And that word paraded over all the memories of loneliness—especially during the first few months in the Titans Tower, when no one would come out of their rooms. To her left, Robin laid. Right, a rare, communal Raven perched against the window, her arms wrapped around her knees. Cyborg by the couches a few feet beside her broke into a story and Beast Boy beside him leaned forward to listen. By the second hour, more spouts of chattering came here and there. Starfire listened in silence. By the fifth hour, she found herself in the conversation, bouncing between her dear friends

Eventually, the evening swung into a foggy night. A misty moon peaked just above Jump's tallest skyscrapers, her half-light bathing the common room where three of the five lied sprawled in slumber. Robin and Starfire remained awake, their orientations positioned in opposite directions and their torsos intercepting, meeting each other's on the same point upon the carpet. Their arms flexed in pillow-like positions, they chatted in hushed tones. Distractions—she thought—are sometimes needed to face the future, yes?

"A melon of water?" Starfire gasped.

"Ate it in under five minutes." Robin boasted.

"Earthen customs are so strange!"

"Only when your mom enters you in a charity watermelon eating contest."

"Your mother sounds lovely, Robin." She paused and looked over at the boy-not so much of a boy, "remind me her name."

"Mary."

"Mary Grayson…" She pondered, "What a lovely name!"

"Thank you, Starfire." He paused for a moment, captivated in a state of wonder, his eyes fixed upon the texture of the ceiling. He trailed off, "…what was your mom like, Star?"

She paused for a moment and thought, _red blood,_ then closed her eyes and spoke in a breath, "She—well, she was most like your mother, Robin. Like you once told me, she would often sing to Blackfire and me a lullaby after 'the-tucking-us-in' also. She always put others before herself.

"When she was three years our junior, a civil war left Tamaran… in… in ruins. As the war ravaged to an end, she was to wed the Grand Ruler of the Northern half due to a long standing Tamaranean tradition of the 'peace-making.' She agreed to marry such stranger, Myand'r, my father, for the welfare of her people."

Robin rolled onto his stomach, "…you are a princess…would you have to do the same?"

"I would rather—" she met her friend's eyes, "rather not think about it."

"You know I found out a while ago." He lifts his torso from the ground, "Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran was sold into slavery by her sister, Komand'r after the Citadel War—and was experimented on by the Psion aliens alongside your sister for the sake of developing a new kind of energy that can be shot out from the hand like a weapon. Your starbolts. And then you—you escaped with that power."

"H-How did you?—"

"I didn't think you wanted to talk about it, so I did some research a few years back. Plus, being the leader I thought it would be good to know."

"I also had a brother." She watched the boy, peering out the window, then crossed her legs. "His name translates to Wildfire."

"Where is he now?"

"I do not know. Perhaps he has returned to Tamaran." She looked up at the boy sitting before her now, "perhaps not."

His expression sunk with hers and he studied the ground for a moment, his long hair falling before his face. Robin, a serious boy, well—not so much of a boy anymore. He took a deep breath and spoke, "A-Are you afraid?"

"…yes…" She paused. He stared at her intently, his eyes following her hand as she pushed red strains of hair from her eyes. She hesitated for a moment. "Robin?"

"Yeah?"

"We watch movies about people fighting for the Light, but what is the Light?"

Robin mirrored her and sat 'crisscross-apple-sauce' as Beast Boy liked to call it. "Well," He questioned in a boyish manner, "um—what do you mean?"

"Is anything truly the Light? Is anything truly…righteous?" She paused, flicking her eyes to the floor. Her green pupils following its trace, her palm rose from her lap and ignited a white starbolt. The core lit the room, casting their close shadows upon the walls around them. It breathed and exhaled in mass, floating peacefully in the air under Starfire's fingertips. Enticed by the radiation, he hesitantly unraveled his hand to uphold hers that wielded the starlight. He remembered earlier that day, then flickered back to her with concern, "Star, how long have your starbolts been this way?"

She giggled shamefully, "Since I attacked you with the door this morning, Robin."

"Why are they suddenly burning white? Is this a Tamaranean change or?"

She shook her head and her voice dwindled with a sense of sorrow, "This—well, it feels like mark of treachery, either from Earth or Tamaran. There is something inside it that is, that is—"

"Sad." He watched their shadows all around them.

"…and desperate..." She pocketed the starlight. "In battle, we fight as heroes, yes? We fight against those who wish to inflict harm. In this case, we protect, so we are the Light?"

Robin nodded hesitantly.

"The Tamaraneans, although it may be difficult to perceive, wish to stop those who inflict harm as well, so I feel caught by the confusion."

"Wondering who is the dark."

"…who is the Light…" Starfire looked from Robin to the city lights fanning from the city behind his shoulder out the massive window. In the silence, he rose to his bare feet, padding against the carpet, and sat himself beside her. Snores of Cyborg broke the silence and Starfire laughed.

"Oh, but I do not know what to do, Robin."

"You stay here."

"Will I not be choosing Earth over Tamaran if I stay?"

"You are not going back to Tamaran. You'll be put away and we can't have that." He choked over his words, "We can't have that. And we don't even know how Earth will respond."

"But this sounds like the beginning of a war—"

"We don't know that."

"Robin, we will surely know soon!"

"Then, I certainly **hope** all will go okay."

"Do you not feel anger or the hurt of losing your family?"

"I know they're okay!"

"You know they are 'the okay'?"

"Of course I do."

Snoring grew louder; they grew quieter, "I don't think you have to choose," he said, "or if you have to choose, choose the 'Light' in both sides.

"Look at this landscape, Star." He widened his arms, loosely cuffed by a green T-shirt. "It's made up of bright lights, deep darks, and those in between. Although we are superheroes, we do our best to fight for what is right. A day hasn't gone by where we haven't gone after a thief or villain. Though, I certainly haven't been perfect and I don't know many people who can say they are perfect. So, I know that no one can be the 'Light.' But, we can try our efforts to walk toward it.

"…and you do that every day…" he told her. They let a moment pass and listened to the choir of the city: sirens that spawned from flashing red lights, the clapping of helicopter wings, and the waves that crashed upon the harbor's rocks.

Her voice spoke into silence, filling the room with a certain warmth, "Robin, I thank you—for everything you have done—a-and still do and—"

Reluctance. That was it. Since the tower that had fallen over Starfire this morning, he couldn't help but to feel that twisted emotion that pins a man to their bed in the morning, not wanting to begin the day's work. Reluctant to fight; reluctant to find the worse; reluctant to experience the worse; reluctant to face a war; reluctant to give away a friend. Today begin as a good day. It was supposed to be a good day.

"Starfire?"

"What is it?"

"Come a bit closer."

"Is everything alright?"

"If you had left with the army today—"

"I apologize, I was not thinking—"

"Just come a bit closer."


	5. Chapter Four

**Author's Note:** Today is my first day back with my repaired computer-which is quite a blessing to have in college. I've realized it is a blessing to be without as well. However, I am happy to finally provide FanFiction with Chapter Four. With this chapter, I would like to share a story, pertaining to how "Starfire's Arc" was written. It began with wanting to flush out a longer retelling of the episode where Starfire returns home to be wedded. And-well, I got carried away with detail! But, in the best way possible. For days, forgetting to eat and sleep (easy to do that when home-schooled), I kept at the computer pounding away an outline for the story which grew and grew-becoming 24 whopping chapters! There were nights were I was so drawn into writing, I wouldn't realize the coming morning, the sun rising! Regardless, I am happy to have spent those nights making this. Whether its good or bad, I hope it can inspire you to create something yourself. _Fun Notes: I have changed the name of a major character-for quite obvious reasons. For the comic book fans, I hope you recognize the meaning behind General Krok'a's new name-Karras._

Chapter Five will be up next Saturday-thank you!

Chapter Four, Incoming News

Starfire awoke in the stillness of the early, gray morning against a blur of green—the itch of carpet on her cheek, eyes slowly opening.

Beep, beep, beep. Three quiet beeps chirped throughout the room. Withdrawing her head, the blur materialized: Robin's shirt draped over his chest where her head had rested. His arm rested above her head on the carpet, bent back as his pillow. His other palm had fallen at her ear and entangled itself in her red hair—a sight to see. A sense to feel—heat warmed her cheeks. Up close—too close he would say—she saw him fast asleep.

Beep, beep, beep. To lie next to him a bit longer, to caress his hand on her neck, to wrap her arm around his waist, to kiss his cheek—all things deeply desired, completely foreign, and utterly inappropriate. She took his hand in her right and carefully held it for a moment before setting it on the carpet before him. She arose to her bare feet that grazed against the carpet's fuzz and remembered the day before in silence. Her arms still throbbed and stung with pangs of soreness. Her heart managed to drum a slow, steady beat, but couldn't fire off enough the energy to fly.

Beep, beep, beep. Though, the silly slight of her friends, scattered upon the common room's floor, deserved the effort it took to smile. Raven was on her side, her hands cradling her head. Cyborg was sprawled out on the couch, his arms and legs dangling off the side. Beast Boy's lower half on the couch, but his upper half was not—lazily slumped onto the carpet. His tongue stuck out, dripping with a Beast Boy-ish drool. Robin remained the same: his body turned onto his side, rough, masculine hands gingerly upon on the floor.

Beep, beep, beep. The sleepers stirred. She thought, 'what is this noise?" and drew nearer to the source of the sound, the Operations Screen were a red "Incoming News" flashed.

Across the continent, in New York, underneath the grand city, inside a steel metropolis, a mass of men and women debated, shouted, and rummaged for answers. Their bellowing reverberated off the walls clashing with every sound wave in its path which magnified the intensity of the moment. Papers were scattered everywhere:

"Justice League Down."

"Tower in Ruins."

"Alien force attacks!"

"UFOs detected!"

"Earth for a war?"

The papers swished on the ground and into the air at the shaking of fists. Politians, the major members of the United Nations, and fellow representatives abruptly fell silent at the presence of the speaker, demanding their cooperation from the grand podium at the base of the hall. His arms strangled the wooden rims; his posture hunched him forward, delivering his eager mouth to the microphone pinned to the podium before him. His eyes held a certain weight that dropped over the crowd, crushing some. Others felt inspired, secure.

Twenty years ago, Agustin Roak was employed as their associate, specializing in extraterrestrial relations. Due to his relations to the technical branch of the Justice League, his popularity had shifted him into the higher seat he spoke from. His features were strong: his arms bulked in his black suit and tie, his chin and cheekbones enticed and captured the light, and his black-graying hair sleeked back in a professional fashion.

"But sir," a man stood from his seat, "A war should not be an option for Earth." People whispered, half clapped, and the noise escalated.

"Cooperation in the courtroom." He glared out. He paused for a moment, memorizing the information upon the sheets, pressing his glasses upon the thick bridge of his defined nose. "Due to recent alien hostility, this is the first time I will address this congress as 'My Fellow People of Earth.' Before I answer any questions, let us begin with the beginning: Tamaraneans.

"A Tamaranean if you will," three screens lowered from the ceiling and drew an image of the fifth Teen Titan, stiff-necked, chin high, green eyes wide, brows furrowed, looking into the camera. "We have received thousands of reports from the citizens of California's Jump City regarding this alien, a member of the supergroup, 'Teen Titans."

"The Teen Titans?"

"The five kids?"

"Can she be trusted, sir?"

"Will she be detained?"

"Within the Vegan Galaxy, approximately located fifteen light years from our Earth, planet Tamaran is energized by the radiation of not one, but three suns. With this exposure, the aliens, orange-tainted skin, blood-red hair, and blistering green pupils, have adapted in such a way that they are innate with the ability like photosynthesis, drawing and releasing energy from the light, mainly harnessing it for flight. This energy—" he paused, "is dying."

"Tamaran is dying?" Beast Boy prompted Starfire onto her feet and guided her from the kitchen and to the couches where the Raven sat to remedy the soreness in her arms. She placed her palms first on her shoulders. Cyborg sat beside her. Robin sat at the control desk, running through articles projected on the Operations screen high above them.

"According to these images," Robin zoomed in on photos of the night sky, "certain lights were spotted in the sky over Berlin a week ago. They are being associated with the Tamaranean attack in the UN livestream."

"Can we find a video of them passing?"

At another click, a low frequency sounded. "Can you recognize the sound?"

"Tamaranean survey ships." She said, after whispering a 'thank you' to Raven.

"Survey ships? How do you know?"

"After the Citadel War, the Civil War before it, and the ever constant Gordanian invasions, I am afraid I left my planet in—well, the worst of conditions. The Grand Ruler—my father—knew this, so there was much conversing about finding a new light source. Our survey ships had visited other galaxies, researching how certain planets retained energy."

"Could they have entered into the Milky Way galaxy for our sun? What could they have done to the sun?"

"I cannot recall any technology that can _steal_ light."

"The leader—"

"General Karras."

"General Karras, he had said the attack on the watchtower was the retaliation. Could these survey ships have been stopped by the Justice League?"

"How did we not know about this?" Beast Boy sank in his seat.

Beep, beep, beep. "Incoming News" flashed.

The designated Speaker of the House spoke, "A survivor from the watchtower reports that this hostility was a revengeful retaliation on the authority of Earth for stopping these Unidentified Flying Objects from reaching the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Alas, Earth is without her main defenses, popularly known as 'Justice League,' its leaders, Batman, the Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, Hawkgirl, and dozens others, currently missing in action. Our defenses down, Earth is forced to make an offense."

Back in the tower, Raven rubbed her hands over Starfire's back and reaped the negative tension teasing her body. She sighed in relief and hunched forward, cracking her back. "Better?"

"Very much so, friend."

Beep, beep, beep. "Incoming News!" Robin clicked on the alert.

"Incoming news already?"

"Nothing could have been decided in such a short amount of time."

Headline: "Earth declares war on Tamaran. All super-beings must report to the United Forces of Earth Headquarters, New York, United States of America. Resisters will be retrieved."

Epilogue

Augustin Roak of the "United Forces of Earth" spoke with a projection before him—a skype call from D.C: "Starfire is an alias of the Tamaranean princess, Koriand'r. Reports say she was last seen in the city twenty seven hours after the attack on the watchtower."

"Starfire is a member of the Teen Titans, a group that is loyal to protecting the Earth."

"She is royalty—also a Tamaranean aware of Earthy customs, who has spent much time observing the government, army, crime fighting, and the unique pool of Earth's superpowers. According to resources, we know that her sister, Komand'r distributed information about Tamaran's weaknesses to the Citadel during their planet's war. Being of the same bloodline, she may do the same."

"They are different people," they man stated, black sleeked hair, strong jaw hinging open to continue a statement that was cut short.

"We cannot allow this risk, Superman. Can I or can I not call you General?"


	6. Chapter Five

**Author's Note:** This chapter is an interesting piece-let me know what you think!

Recently, the original series hit 9,000 views, which means a lot to me! Though, the excitement is a little hard to express, especially when friends and family do not understand fanfiction-which is okay! I laugh at myself trying to explain it to my parents, 'its like retelling a story that's already been told.' They get excited for me-but, I am afraid I am too shy to share the story itself. As for now, that shyness is no longer important. The day of dread came when my friend Cody-I really hope you read this sometime, you crafty cat-fought me for my fanfiction alias and won. Does it seem like a dreadful day? Not without the whole story which I will explain on the next update. Tune in next Sunday!

Chapter Five, "Unanswered Questions"

"I'm going to patrol the city." Robin told his team to stay indoors at all costs before he left for the dismal day. Yet, a stretch of sun fell on the wintery ocean. Dismal, yet different. Usually the sun would show itself around four o'clock during this season, bending low enough to peak beneath the smog that drowned the city. During those days, the grayness would melt the afternoon into golden and orange hues—like the Tamaranean cliffs, Starfire thought.

A pink fuzzy blanket fell over her shoulders to fight the new case of shivers—odd, for an alien. According to Raven, Starfire's body would respond well to the sunlight, so she sat before the window. The sunbeams were nice.

There was a time when she never knew "shoulds," "woulds" or "coulds" that the English language granted. A tip of a tongue can give a new way to speak and think that the Tamaraneans had never known. She thought about Robin, his mouth, his words—could be blame her for using the words he had given her?

What should I so?

Would I remember my way home?

Could I leave my friends?

The sunlight poured through.

Unlike most days, the crime rate had become suspiciously low since the draft that had been announced that early morning. Over social media, in between televised shows, and all over the newspapers flashed those words:

 _"_ _Earth declares war on Tamaran. All super-beings must report to the United Forces of Earth Headquarters, New York, United States of America. Resisters will be retrieved."_

Was it real?

Of course not, humans and there propaganda are strange.

It can't be real.

Earth cannot face an intergalactic war-not without the power of supers.

Is this real?

In the tower, no one had spoken of packing or traveling, but with the alerts popping up more and more frequently on the desktop a conversation beginning with 'what do we do?' came closer and closer. "Stay put" shouted Robin's expression all morning, staring into his screen, furiously typing. "Nobody move" and "wait to see what happens throughout the day" was the verdict. So, Cyborg roamed in the kitchen, cleaning up after the pancake breakfast; Beast Boy, doing the laundry; Raven doing additional research at the desktop, tracking Robin's whereabouts among the city—no struggle, no crime, he was returning.

It was quiet.

Cyborg seated himself next to Starfire, his palm on her head—a gentle friend. Weakly, with the stiff turn of her head, she greeted him, holding a rough, exhausted smile.

"How you holdin' up?"

"The sunlight is most warm, Cyborg."

"Raven said you have been feeling better?"

"In some ways."

"How's the starbolt?" He asked, "Can you light it for me?

At a small wince, she ignited a white disk.

"I set up a pile of pans in the kitchen." He pulled her onto her feet and pointed to a small tower of iron and fiberglass precariously duct taped and prompted up on the dining table. "Try aiming for it."

"Is this what we call 'the dummy?'"

"Kind of!"

"Cyborg—it is not a very good dummy. Will Robin not be bothered by us destroying the kitchenware?"

"Robin's not here," Beast Boy teased, peaking out of the hall. "Plus, Robin said we can't go outside to test it."

"Are the starbolts weaker or stronger?" Raven peered in.

"I have 'the feeling' that they are a little wilder." She said.

"Go on. Kitchenware needs to be replaced anyway."

She drew up her breath and fixed her stance, slowly shifting her weight into her weak knees. Stiff by firmly, she lit her hands aflame with white energy, pulsing from her eyes, and threw a disc—shot up and out, then curved into the make-shift dummy that absorbed the heat—three, two, one, an explosion jumped out! Rocking the floor! Throwing the three from their feet, throwing their hands above their heads! They looked up and into bright bow of light shafting between the smoke.

"My God, Star." Beast Boy pushed himself up from the floor.

"That," she panted, heaving air in and out, and collapsed to the floor, muscles suddenly quitting. "That took—much of me."

"Stay down there. I'm going to get Raven!"

BOOM! A sound! Loud sound! The tower rocked! Above lights swung! Cyborg fell to the ground, "A sonic boom! Get down!"

"Tamaraneans?!"

"Starfire!" Robin shouted from the opening elevator, "Down to the basement now!"

"Get outta here!" Cyborg threw an arm around the alien, boosted her onto her feet, and ran her to Robin who took her like a baton, holding her protectively, almost carrying her to the situation room against her will. She protested, scrambling, "wait, wait, wait!" No, no, no, she struggling, he locked an arm at her thigh in took her with him in mid-run for the stairs.

"Hold it!" Raven evaporated into the room with a black glow. The room froze. "They're not Tamaraneans!"

Beast Boy ducked down, his frame shifting into the shape of flittering bat, and listened for the soundwaves hiding in the quiet room. Beat, beat, beat, they watched him. His eyes widened with pulsing glee and he transformed back into his human form. "You guys aren't going to believe this!"

Suddenly, a man in blue and red sealed with a defiant "S" across his chest, eclipsed the window. "Superman!"

"Superman?" Robin gawked. Inside the tower, he joined the Titans and they sat around their counter that encased the kitchen area, locked in awe of the Man of Steel. "How did you survive? We scoped the Watch Tower, we thought you guys were—what happened to you guys?"

"The rest should be okay—for now."

"Where are the others?" Robin pressed.

"They should be fine." He fastened his fist to his forehead, attempting to drown out the images that crept along with his words. Starfire fell back—it would be a story about the brutality of her people. She told herself to listen and kept her feet planted where she was. Thankfully the ears of Tamaraneans couldn't free themselves or else she would not have been able to catch them to hear Superman.

He turned to her, "You are a princess."

"Just Starfire, please." She insisted, "Please, let us know what happened."

"I do not even know how to apologize to you." He told them that certain lights had been appearing in the skies, coming closer and closer into the direction of the Watchtower, "We must have received hundreds of thousands of reports on these Unidentified Flying Objects that we flying close to Earth. With constant pressure from the United States and Russia, noise was constant in the tower, there was a lot of fighting, and half the league left.

"Before they did leave," he told them, "a missile-like contraption was launched from the Watch Tower in the direction of a UFO's, their weak spot detected on the radar. We had dealt with a lot of probes with the same structure in the past. But little did we know that Tamaraneans were aboard the probes. We found no oppressing or offensive weaponry in the ruins, just a bunch of bodies."

Heart beating, bewildered, she pushed her voice down into hush, "there is not many of us—one thousand were aboard?"

"They may have been looking for a new galaxy. A colony ship."

"Tamaran is dying." She sat with the words, her hands clasping her face. Beast Boy drew to her side—the others followed.

"They came back to attack the Tower. Batman sent me to Earth when their energy obliterated our systems."

"Tamaraneans cannot produce starbolts like Starfire," Robin stated, "How did they fight?"

"I couldn't have known." Superman stood and walked the circumference of the counter, making his way to the burnt table, on two legs, melted pots and pans fallen all around the tile floor. He descended to his knees and pressed a palm to the ground. He eyed the pans that glowed with a blistering blue color. White strikes choked out the black color. A light smoking sifted in the air.

"You have a sister, am I correct?"

"My sister? Yes."

"Can she wield the same power as you?"

"Yes."

"Starfire, light your starbolts." He looked at her strangely, drawing closer, and grabbed her palm. She drew back, wide eyed. She gawked up at him towering above her.

"Hey, don't grab her!"

Pressure, too much pressure, she took her palm and drew up a white bolt that lit the space between them, blinding them both. Blinking, blinking, he averted his eyes and shook his weary head.

"What of my sister?"

"Titans," he returned Robin's glare, "may I speak to Starfire alone?"

"Has the Justice League seen her?"

"Starfire, one moment—"

"Superman, is she safe?" She paused, found her friends beside her, and threw her gaze back to the hero, "please, Superman, nothing is in my control. At least tell me my own sister is safe."

"You know that the United Forces of Earth are reaping heroes and villains from all over the world to form a massive army of super-beings. Do not take my words for granted, Starfire, their conquest to Jump City will occur in the matter of days. Unless you want to fight Earth, you must leave before they arrive."

"She's not leaving us," protested Robin.

"This is not about your team, Robin!"

"She's more than our team!" He stopped, took his breath, and stood tall—what had he said? Why was his team looking at him like a stranger? "We are family—and I've already lost one."

"You," he pointed a frustrated finger at the Tamaranean behind Robin, "You must leave before they can take you as hostage."

"Hostage?"

"Not Starfire."

"Why would they want to take her hostage?"

"Excuse me," she chimed in, "but how do you know this, Superman? The media has been excruciatingly confusing since the attack on the watchtower."

Superman looked down to the floor, quiet, his breath strong. He backed away and faced the window way from her. When he turned back, he withdrew a small badge from his coat pocket, flashing the bronze front to her, "I am supposed to arrive at the Titans Tower in three days to arrest you."

Robin lunged forward, demanding, angry, "You're leading the UFE!?"

"How can you do this?!"

"I need to get Batman and the others back."

She lunged forward and blasted her discs into her grip uncontrollably. "You will be damaging millions of families by doing so!"

"This war is about family." Superman held his silence while their eyes beat down on him for the questions he could not answer. He turned back to the princess on the verge of tears, her fists still locked in his direction. "Titans, I need you to help me protect the Earth like you have for the last few years." He looked defiantly at the Titans, "and I will plan to do that justly."

"Isn't a war too extreme?" Robin demanded.

"The Tamaraneans will not invade the Earth."

"We don't know this. We also are left vulnerable to the universe without the Justice League. We must recover them. However, I refuse to take you as hostage. You have to flee."

"My sister, Blackfire." She said, letting her fists fall at her sides, "Where is she? You mentioned her earlier. Where is she?"

"Komand'r, Blackfire, did not get a chance to flee as you have gotten. I suggest taking off as soon as possible." He buckled his lip, said his goodbyes, and left from the roof for the skies. She stared beyond the windows, the fog washing the city into deep darks, lights, and shades of gray.

"Starfire?" Beast Boy inched closer. She had begun to weep and weep and weep. Her friends came closer and closer and closer, crowding together.

What do you do when there are no more "woulds," "coulds," or "shoulds?"


	7. Chapter Six

Author's Note: Before more time can pass, please take this. To those who comment, you are amazing. Please forgive me for posting this in such a delay. Please private message me, I would love to thank you personally.

A Dove to the Air 

The colors of the sunset praised an afternoon she would call "glorious." She watched the pink clouds float just above the ocean and stepped forward on the roof, asking herself if "this"—what was it again?—was okay. What happened just a few hours ago? That's right—Superman interrupted a life interrupted by rumors of wars and fight.

There was once a time where she was not as awake as she was now standing on the roof. That exact time, five years ago, she was falling into some foreign planet. Falling, falling, she begged herself to stay awake despite the pain gnashing at her body: bloody, beaten, broken, weak, and effortlessly shooting across the evening sky. The blue planet had emerged too fast, goodbye to the stars. She had cried and cried for Tamaran when the thermosphere hit; green flames encased her body. With a sonic boom, her body had collided into the troposphere. The civilians stared up, children pointed, and the others fled from the falling star. A hateful day, she remembered, very unlike the days she knew now. But, those days—she thought intently—were gone. At least, they were supposed to be. Yet, it's hard not to expect the past repeating itself in the future. She trembled at the question, _could I again become a monster?_

The lights of the sunset gleamed dangerously off the wet roof, which shone like a reflective pool. Another sky formed beneath her feet—a sky she could see without lifting her head. Was looking up looking towards her future? Who wanted to look forward for the future anyway? There and now, the afternoon hues of oranges, yellows, and pinks swept across the span of sky, kissing the clouds in the light—a light she would call "marvelous." A marvelous light and a glorious evening, she contemplated the words to the slow stirring sound of the waves beneath the tower. They were quieter and calmer than usual. Yes, she thought, this would be a sound to miss.

She peaked down at them. The waves carelessly splashed the rocks, pushing and pulling against them in a slow, lazy current. She thought of the many 'beach days' her and the team had shared. Why did earthlings find water bathing and sun bathing so comedic and joyous? Well, she had asked Raven once, and it had something to do with the temperature. Humans enjoy the cool temperature when they are warm, and it was often warm in Jump City. So, the team spends all day in heat, yet there is never any beach-going alone. Drowning in the memories, she thought that "beach days" were less about the beach and more about family.

What was that? A tear flickered orange and fell down her cheek—she tried to catch it with her hand fumbling around her backpack strap. Drowning, drowning, and drowning—in the colors, in the water, in the emotion? Earth has many strange colors and as strange as emotions. What do earthlings call it?—heaviness. That was it. And the fleeting memories of Robin, Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy did not make her any lighter.

Could still she fly? Could she still stand? What was it like to fall again? And why did earthlings say phrases such as "falling in love?"

The day she fell to Earth, she had struck the ground—a meteor!—buried herself in her crater, and wished it was a grave. The pulsing pain had seethed throughout her limp body. She choked down her sobbing, and hatefully rose, throwing her arms in front of her. The people had stopped and stared! They screamed and ran! She had bellowed, had kicked, had threatened the crowd with her bonded arms! The pain had rioted inside her and she had pushed it down, igniting discs in her hands, unleashing the rain of energy on the buildings

"Surely," she now wiped her eyes, excusing the memory, "this is not okay." To fly—how do I fly?—she recalled memories of her and the Titans. It was five years ago, was it not? When the light posts, traffic lights, and street signs fell with a mighty crash and when the green fire jumped up from the town square and choked the grounds in smoke.

She remembered her hands encased in metal bonds and how she had slammed her fists against the ground one, two, three times. That day, yelling, she threw up her hands, and open fired on ground zero, the strange buildings, the strange gravity, and the strange beings gawking, running, and screaming. The roads flopped up and broke, throwing people from the pavement. They leapt right and left and dove under cars—some ran into the buildings. Everyone screamed, "Alien in Jump! Alien in Jump!" There was a boy in the distance, the weapons he threw, and a fight he challenged.

A door slammed behind her! Yanked from the memories, she spins around as the tower around her materialized. Now, he stood at the roof's door swung open, angry, hurt, holding a note in his hand, confronting the alien who was about to go.

"Did you think you were leaving?!"

"Robin, you look so much older."

"You look older?" He shakes the note clenched in his hands, "That's what you tell me? Older than what?"

He had been little, she remembered, running along the side of a roof who hopped upon a falling light post to land on ground zero. His hair was short, his arms were small, and his eyes were as awful as hers. He threw out his bombs like candy, and unsheathed his staff as if it he'd fought ten years with it.

"You're not even looking at me!" He strode angrily to her. "You've been told to stay back!" During that hateful day, he had cocked those fists like a criminal, launched those kicks like he could fly, and moved as if a robot, guarded by a mask. He had whirled that staff around his body and broke its neck on her side, bashing her into a building. Dust went up like flames! She came to her bloody bear feet and pounced back.

"Why aren't you talking to me?" He now demanded. He had been an enemy, a challenger, a match, and—then suddenly a friend, and now—well, she stopped herself. Yet, an enormous space stretched between them.

"Why are you walking away from me?" He cocked forward—

-she jutted out her hand, and ignited it! A white light burning. Burning. Burning, and Robin was once again a young boy caught in the lights of a superpower of an alien. His expression melted—his eyes sank, his mouth unhinged—and he looked frantically between her threatening hand and her expression. The word "best friend" on her lips, she forced her eyes down at her feet. She sealed a quivering expression and shut watering eyes with a tight frown.

A threat—bright, white, and flaming. There was a time where he would have raged against it like he had in the streets years ago. He fought wildly as if he had no life to lose or was too willing to lose it. Dodging the bolts she threw, he had run along the light posts, leaping between torn sheets. Like a winged creature, she thought! She had kicked up a bus and hurdled it at him, only to see his frame tumbling out of the way. Strike him! Give him the punch! Shoot!

Breaking. Thinking in real time, now, there was something hauntingly nostalgic about the Robin before her now—something strange, scary, and countering, yet surpassingly comforting.

"Star," he spoke in a silent gasp, still arms loosely falling at his sides. He stood as if he had forever ago—after the mess, after the fight, after the confusion. Without a weapon, but wielding an expression of concern, so powerful, but she kept the power in her palm bigger and brighter. Its glow lit up his face and caught the water welling in her eyes.

In the harsh silence, she watched a stark shadow drown his brows in a determined furrowing. Mad, he stepped forward; she grew the blistering ball. Words of apologies on her mouth, she shot the ground next to him! He scampered, rolled, and bounced back to his feet, leaping closer to her. Robin, her best friend, Robin, she wailed in her mind, and shot starbolts at his trail, keep him from reaching her. Two hands, she shot. Eyes lit up in white, she shot and shot as he whirled around each one. If she could throw a bolt, she could fly away. Why not fly away now? Leaving—it must be less painful!

Between the slices of starbolts, the sound of furious steps trampling the staircase rocked the scene until the roof's door burst open, three remaining Titans standing in its arc. They crouched down at Robin's bark, "stay down! Get back inside!"

"Starfire?!"

"What the heck?" Beast Boy shelled himself inside a turtle's form while Raven called out black wave and engulfed her space, which she leapt out from and onto a new sheet of roof where Cyborg guarded.

"You gotta tell us before you leave!"

Where are you going, Star?"

He reached for her, but she slipped away. Why couldn't she just fly? Panicing, huffing, she ran towards the edge of the roof! Three more strides! That's all, and then she could try her luck at flying! Two more! One!—

Boom, she collided with a charging bear, Beast Boy, panicking and frightened. Both went tumbling!

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" He reached over for her from the ground, but quivered back at the shot from her eyes. She jumped up, dodged Raven's grab, and leapt back. What was she doing? Why was she dodging Raven's black grab? Cyborg? Beast Boy?

"Starfire?"

"Robing, why are we fighting?" Voices, too many voices, she found her back against a wall; she fired up another starbolt and rolled out of the corner the three were enclosing in on. Where's the forth? The forth?

Out on top above her, his body leapt out, and descended down like a furious bird. Robin—he stabbed the ground before like a falling sword, a broke into a swift movement. His fists sliding underneath her ribs, she flinched—

Quiet, all hushed itself into silence, and in a series of steady blinks, she found herself in a tight embrace, her best friend's arms around her, him arching back, lifting her up off from her feet. He found his eyes tucked into the hollow of her collar, "Stop it." He muffled. "This won't be how we all met."

"Robin, I must go!"

"I know!" He barked! Then, silence fell. He held her up and put her down in the arms of her family who waited anxiously to embrace her. Their arms reaching across her, she began to break into sniffles, then huffs, then with each passing moment, she began to weep. Sobs, sobs, they were quiet as a steady breeze blew past them.

"You are going to Tamaran?" Robin spoke into the tight circle.

"I," she huffed in, "am."

They released her, placing her feet back on the ground. All still gathered around, they watched more tears rolled down her cheek. Cyborg rested his hand on her shoulder, "do you have everything you need?" She nodded. "Food? Drink?"

"Yes, friend Cyborg."

"How about a plan?" Asked Raven.

"I have not conceived one yet, friend."

"Make that plan, yeah?" She took her cape to her wet cheeks.

"So, you're just gonna go?" Asked Beast Boy.

They were quiet.

"Before that," said Robin who, with the spur of an impulsive thought, scrambled his hands at his waist, unbuckled his golden utility, and lassoed it around Starfire. He looked up at her shyly, looking between her waist and her eyes, and took back his hands and brought them to her shoulders. "Just in case you need it."

There he was—far from being that boy the team had met five years ago. That man in the making had become what she could not describe to her people. It was as if he, in suit with Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg, was a large piece of her. Did they not take her in? She faced them: surely, they so much to say goodbye to. Yet, when looking that their leader, the protector, the representative, and the supporter, she could barely meet his eyes. Did he not show her pain, loss, hurt, and sacrifice? With a team comes patience, grace, forgiveness, rashness, laughter, and love. That love this boy taught—she knew—could save planets from their own wars.

She faced them one more time, and stopped at Robin's eyes: so still, intense, purposeful, and solemn. Noticing the faint glow of the fleeting horizon shaking in his eyes, she turned towards the skies with a new found peace. She turned back to her team, and before taking off, embraced them all at once.

"Friend, I have nothing to say."

"How about 'we will see each other again?'"

Watching her ascend, Robin suddenly saw himself releasing her into the air like a peace dove. Tipping her head to the sky, she let the wind carry her. He was silent and watched her go, the words he said to her when they first met on his mouth: "Welcome to Earth, Starfire."


End file.
